U.S. patent number 6,712,886 [Application Number 10/341,787] was granted by the patent office on 2004-03-30 for air purification device for automobile with oxygen-supplying function.
Invention is credited to Oh-Young Kim.
United States Patent |
6,712,886 |
Kim |
March 30, 2004 |
Air purification device for automobile with oxygen-supplying
function
Abstract
An air purification device has an oxygen-supplying function, in
which air in an automobile is sucked by a vacuum pump and purified
by a dust collector or an adsorbent such as activated carbon and
zeolite, and oxygen is enriched in air to supply oxygen enriched
air into the automobile. The air purification device enriches
oxygen in air according to a VSA (vacuum swing adsorption) process
using a difference between pressure in the adsorption bed and
atmospheric pressure, in which nitrogen adsorbed into the adsorbent
is release using the vacuum pump. The air purification device has
an air filter for removing impurities from air sucked from an
inside of the automobile by the vacuum pump, an adsorbent for
adsorbing nitrogen from air passing through the air filter and
passing oxygen, and an oxygen tank for storing oxygen supplied from
the adsorbent and releasing oxygen using a vacuum.
Inventors: |
Kim; Oh-Young (Seoul 110-602,
KR) |
Family
ID: |
19718507 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/341,787 |
Filed: |
January 14, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
96/111; 96/115;
96/223; 96/134; 96/143; 96/130; 96/222 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B01D
53/0476 (20130101); B60H 3/0007 (20130101); F24F
3/16 (20130101); B60H 3/0035 (20130101); B01D
2259/4566 (20130101); B01D 2259/40009 (20130101); F24F
8/60 (20210101); B01D 2259/40005 (20130101); B01D
2256/12 (20130101); B01D 2253/108 (20130101); Y02B
30/70 (20130101); B01D 53/053 (20130101); B01D
2253/102 (20130101); F24F 8/99 (20210101); F24F
2110/76 (20180101); B01D 53/0446 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60H
3/00 (20060101); B01D 53/047 (20060101); F24F
3/16 (20060101); B01D 053/053 () |
Field of
Search: |
;55/385.3
;95/96,101,102,130 ;96/111,115,117,130,134,135,143,144,222,223 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1020010056065 |
|
Jul 2001 |
|
KR |
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1020010057308 |
|
Jul 2001 |
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KR |
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Primary Examiner: Spitzer; Robert H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Duane Morris LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An air purification device for an automobile with
oxygen-supplying function, provided with a suction port and a
releasing port for sucking air in the automobile and releasing air
into the automobile, and a channel connecting the suction port to
the releasing port, comprising: an air filter, adjacent to the
suction port, to remove impurities from air; vacuum pump means for
sucking air in the automobile; two adsorption beds, connected to
the air filter, for separating oxygen from air, said adsorption
beds each containing an adsorbent mostly adsorbing nitrogen from
air; bypass channel means connecting the adsorption beds to each
other, and allowing oxygen enriched air to flow from one adsorption
bed to the other adsorption bed; additional pump means for
releasing the oxygen enriched air from the adsorption beds; a check
valve, connected to each of the adsorption beds and the additional
pump means, thus allowing the oxygen enriched air to exclusively
flow from the adsorption beds to the additional pump means; and
valve means mounted on a channel connected to the two adsorption
beds, the vacuum pump means, and the air filter to alternately
allow a vacuum and atmospheric pressure to be applied into each
adsorption bed, wherein said vacuum pump means is directly seated
on the automobile and driven by an engine, each of said adsorption
beds converts air sucked from an inside of the automobile into the
oxygen enriched air to supply the oxygen enriched air into the
automobile by the additional pump means, said air sucked from the
inside of the automobile is thus converted into the oxygen enriched
air by controlling the channel using the valve means to alternately
apply the vacuum and atmospheric pressure into each adsorption bed
using vacuum pressure generated from the vacuum pump means
according to a vacuum swing adsorption process.
2. The air purification device according to claim 1, further
comprising an oxygen tank, connected to the additional pump means
and the check valve, for storing oxygen enriched air supplied from
each of the adsorption beds.
3. The air purification device according to claim 2, wherein the
oxygen tank releases oxygen enriched air by a spring and a
diaphragm positioned therein, and said spring and diaphragm being
operated by vacuum pressure supplied from the vacuum pump
means.
4. The air purification device according to claim 1, further
comprising a vacuum tank for vacuum preservation, connected to the
valve means and the vacuum pump means.
5. The air purification device according to claim 2 or 4, wherein
the vacuum pump means comprising an intake manifold part of the
automobile.
6. The air purification device according to claim 5, further
comprising a separate auxiliary vacuum pump, said intake manifold
part of the automobile mostly acting as the vacuum pump means and
said separate auxiliary vacuum pump additionally supplying a vacuum
to the air purification device.
7. The air purification device according to claim 5, further
comprising an oxygen sensor and a controller positioned in the
automobile, said oxygen sensor measuring a concentration of oxygen
in the automobile, said controller regulating an amount of
generated oxygen according to a measured concentration value.
8. The air purification device according to claim 5, further
comprising a scent generator or an anion generator for providing
amenities to users, positioned at an oxygen discharge part for
discharging oxygen enriched air into the automobile.
9. The air purification device according to claim 5, wherein said
valve means for controlling the channel is a rotary valve driven by
a motor.
10. The air purification device according to claim 5, wherein said
additional pump means for releasing the oxygen enriched air is a
small-sized vacuum pump driven by a motor.
11. The air purification device according to claim 2 or 4, wherein
the vacuum pump means comprises an oil lubricated type vacuum pump,
said vacuum pump being directly connected to a crank shaft or a
pulley of an engine.
12. An air purification device for an automobile with
oxygen-supplying function, provided with a suction port and a
releasing port for sucking air in the automobile and releasing air
into the automobiles and a first channel connecting the suction
port to the releasing port, comprising: an air filter, adjacent to
the suction port, to remove impurities from air; a first pump for
sucking air in the automobile; two adsorption beds, connected to
the air filter, for separating oxygen from air, said adsorption
beds each containing an adsorbent mostly adsorbing nitrogen from
air; a bypass channel connecting the adsorption beds to each other,
and allowing oxygen enriched air to flow from one adsorption bed to
the other adsorption bed; a second pump for releasing the oxygen
enriched air from the adsorption beds; a check valve, connected to
each of the adsorption beds and the second pump, thereby allowing
the oxygen enriched air to exclusively flow from the adsorption
beds to the second pump; a valve mounted on a second channel
connected to the two adsorption beds, the first pump, and the air
filter to alternately allow a vacuum and atmospheric pressure to be
applied into each adsorption bed, wherein said first pump is
directly seated on the automobile and driven by an engine, each of
said adsorption beds converts air sucked from an inside of the
automobile in the oxygen enriched air to supply the oxygen enriched
air into the automobile by the second pump, said air sucked from
the inside of the automobile is thus converted into the oxygen
enriched air by controlling the channel using the valve mounted on
the channel to alternately apply the vacuum and atmospheric
pressure into each adsorption bed using vacuum pressure generated
from said first pump according to a vacuum swing adsorption
process.
13. The air purification device according to claim 12, further
comprising an oxygen tank, connected to the second pump and the
check valve, for storing oxygen enriched air supplied from each of
the adsorption beds.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to an air purification
device with oxygen-supplying function and, in particular, to an
oxygen supplier and an air purification device useful in indoor air
conditioners or automobiles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As well known to those skilled in the art, traditional examples of
a process of supplying oxygen into the passenger compartment of an
automobile include a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process using
an adsorbent such as zeolite and a process using a gas separation
membrane. The PSA process is applied to supply oxygen enriched air
with oxygen purity of 80% or higher, and the gas separation
membrane process is used to yield oxygen enriched air with
relatively low purity oxygen of 30% or higher. The gas separation
membrane process usually requires a higher pressure than the PSA
process.
However, these conventional processes, in which oxygen is separated
from air using compressed air, are disadvantageous in that an
adsorbent usually used in the PSA process, for example, a synthetic
zeolite, absorbs moisture due to a vapor condensation phenomenon
occurring when high temperature and pressure air compressed by an
air compressor comes in contact with relatively cool room air,
thereby reducing oxygen separation efficiency. In addition, the gas
separation membrane process is disadvantageous in that: oxygen
separation efficiency is reduced by moisture, like the PSA process;
a lubricant in the air compressor is mixed with compressed air in
the case of using an oil lubricating type air compressor having
greater durability, and durability of the air compressor is poor in
the case of a non-lubricating type air compressor; air compression
is limited; a temperature of the air compressor is excessively
high; and power consumption is large in the case of a motor type
compressor using an automobile electric power source.
In other words, air is compressed to two to four atm of pressure
and then supplied into an adsorption bed, and nitrogen adsorbed by
the adsorbent in the adsorption bed is desorbed under atmospheric
pressure in the case of the pressure swing adsorption process. This
conventional process using the air compressor has disadvantages of
serious noise pollution, poor durability and excessive power
consumption when used in an automobile.
A traditional oxygen supplier for automobiles is a device in which
atmospheric air is sucked to separate a small quantity of oxygen
from air and oxygen is supplied into the automobile, and a separate
air purification device is needed so as to purify air in the
automobile.
A vacuum swing adsorption (VSA) process of generating oxygen
enriched air with the use of an adsorbent by generating a pressure
difference using a vacuum pump, not using the air compressor, has
been used to generate oxygen enriched air in great quantities for a
long period, in which atmospheric air passes through an adsorption
bed under atmospheric pressure, and nitrogen adsorbed in the
adsorption bed is desorbed by creating a vacuum in the adsorption
bed. The VSA process is advantageous in that noise pollution is
reduced, and disadvantages of the PSA process occurring in the case
of using an oil lubricated device are avoided. However, this VSA
process can only be applied to not a small-scale oxygen generation
process but a large-scale commercial oxygen generation process. In
the case of being used in the small-scale oxygen generation
process, the VSA process is used in combination with PSA process,
that is to say, in the form of a VPSA combination process to
increase productivity and purity of oxygen enriched air. An example
of such VPSA combination processes using a central vacuum line in a
building is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No.
20-0219405, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,728 also describes a VPSA
process. Additionally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,266,102 and 5,656,067 each
suggest a modified VSA process.
The reason why the VSA process is combined with the PSA process is
that oxygen separation efficiency is improved and high purity
oxygen is obtained. Meanwhile, it is reported that humans feel
refreshed when an oxygen concentration in air is higher than in
atmospheric air by ones of %, but oxygen with 90% or higher purity
is rather harmful than good to humans. A conventional PSA oxygen
separator generates highly pure oxygen of 80% or higher purity, and
so direct use of the conventional PSA oxygen separator may cause
problems such as fire or oxygen toxicity. Accordingly, it is
preferable that a gas separation membrane process generating
relatively low purity oxygen, or a modified PSA process generating
low purity oxygen in a maximum quantity, instead of the
conventional PSA process generating high purity oxygen such as
medical oxygen, is applied to separate oxygen from air.
Furthermore, when the VSA process having been applied to
large-scale applicants is applied to small-scale oxygen separation
processes, the VSA process may be preferably applied to automobiles
in consideration of low purity oxygen generation.
Therefore, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the
above disadvantages occurring in the prior art, and provides an air
purification device with oxygen-supplying function according to the
VSA process, a kind of the PSA process, in which oxygen enriched
air is produced from air using a vacuum source in the automobile,
or using a vacuum pump or an oil lubricated type vacuumizing device
driven by an engine of the automobile, air in the automobile is
sucked by a vacuum pump, the sucked air is purified by a dust
collector or a filter such as activated carbon, oxygen enriched air
is produced from air by an adsorbent such as zeolite, and the
oxygen enriched air is supplied into the passenger compartment of
the automobile. As described above, if only the VSA process is used
to produce oxygen enriched air from air, oxygen separation
efficiency is poor, and thus the VPSA process in which the VSA
process is combined with the PSA process is frequently used.
However, the air purification device according to the present
invention is based on the VSA process using only vacuum because of
various disadvantages of applying an air compressor to the
automobile. Because the vacuum swing adsorption process is used to
operate the air purification device, highly pure oxygen is not
generated, thus preferably supplying air with an oxygen
concentration not harmful to human health into the automobile.
According to the present invention, drivers and passengers of a car
are refreshed because a desirable oxygen concentration of air is
maintained in the automobile by sucking air in the automobile,
purifying air, and supplying purified air with a desirable
concentration of oxygen into the automobile.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a method of separating
oxygen from air passing through an adsorbent, comprising the steps
of releasing nitrogen adsorbed in the adsorbent such as zeolite
using a vacuum pump and sucking air in the automobile into an
adsorption bed vessel under vacuum.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to supply
oxygen in conjunction with purified air into a room or into an
automobile.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an air
purification device for an automobile with oxygen-supplying
function, which sucks air in the automobile to generate air with a
desirable concentration of oxygen, and allows the resulting air to
pass through a dust collector, zeolite, activated carbon, an
antimicrobial filter, an anion generator, and a scent generator
etc., thus allowing users in the automobile to feel refreshed.
It is another object of the present invention to prevent an
adsorbent such as zeolite from adsorbing moisture due to a vapor
condensation occurring when hot compressed air passing through an
air compressor comes in contact with cool atmospheric air.
It is another object of the present invention to prevent a
lubricant from containing compressed air when an oil lubricated
type air compressor is used to overcome poor durability of the air
compressor, by using a difference between low pressure due to a
vacuum pump and atmospheric pressure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an oil
circulating vacuum pump of an oxygen supplier, driven by an
automobile engine, having advantages of low noise, long life span,
and high flux.
It is another object of the present invention to avoid
disadvantages of a conventional pressure swing adsorption process
such as vibration and noise without a high pressure safety device,
a pressure controller, and a moisture separator.
It is another object of the present invention to avoid
disadvantages of a pressure swing adsorption process by applying a
vacuum swing adsorption process into an automobile.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device
for supplying air into an adsorption bed using a single vacuum
source and releasing oxygen enriched air from the adsorption
bed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the
present invention will be more clearly understood from the
following detailed description taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an air purification device
for an automobile with oxygen-supplying function according to the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Based on the present invention, the object can be accomplished by a
provision of an air purification device for an indoor air
conditioner or an automobile with oxygen-supplying function,
comprising an air filter for removing impurities, bacteria, and a
bad smell from air in the automobile, a vacuum pump for sucking air
passing through the air filter in a predetermined degree of vacuum,
an adsorption bed having adsorbents, being able to increase oxygen
concentration by adsorbing mostly nitrogen from air using the
vacuum pump, a bypass flow rate controlling tube for improving
nitrogen desorption efficiency of the adsorption bed, a first check
valve allowing oxygen supplied from the adsorbent to flow in one
direction, an oxygen tank for storing oxygen passing through the
check valve, a pump means for supplying oxygen stored in the oxygen
tank to an inside of the automobile, a second check valve for
maintaining an inside of the oxygen tank under vacuum after
releasing oxygen from the oxygen tank, a valve means for
alternately applying vacuum and atmospheric pressure into the
adsorption bed, a scent generator for supplying scent in
conjunction with purified oxygen into the automobile or an anion
generator for improving air quality in the automobile, a
controller, and an oxygen sensor for measuring an amount of
oxygen.
In the case of the automobile, it is preferable to use the vacuum
pump driven by an automobile engine, and a separate vacuum pump may
be used in combination with an intake manifold part or an intake
manifold part may be used alone as a vacuum pump means. A separate
small-sized vacuum pump or small-sized blower may be used to
release oxygen under atmospheric pressure into the oxygen tank.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, when two
adsorption beds are used, it is preferable to use a simple spring
and diaphragm so as to exploit a vacuum generated by the vacuum
pump means, or a combination of a spring and a piston in a cylinder
may be used.
In addition, the length of one cycle comprising a sucking and a
releasing step depends on a capacity of the vacuum pump and a size
of the adsorption bed. Accordingly, when two adsorption beds are
used, the sucking and releasing step can be conducted within one
second by using an optimized separate vacuum pump or a vacuum pump
connected to an automobile engine. At this time, the vacuum pump is
directly connected to a crank shaft or a pulley of the automobile
engine. From tests conducted on the air purification device of the
present invention, it was found that the whole cycle period is less
than 5 seconds, and 25 to 35% pure oxygen can be generated in a
great quantity by optimizing the cycling period of the vacuum pump
against the adsorbent in the small-sized adsorption bed (length of
20 cm and inner diameter of 2.5 cm or shorter). In other words, it
was found that purity of oxygen generated according to a
conventional pressure swing process is low but its productivity is
not reduced.
Moreover, a small amount of oxygen is bypassed through a bypass
oxygen channel positioned on the adsorption bed so as to remove
nitrogen from air, thereby increasing the purity of oxygen by 3% or
higher.
The filter firstly purifying air absorbed from an inside of the
automobile may comprise an air filter, a dust collector, activated
carbon for removing a bad smell, and an antimicrobial filter
according to need. Needless to say, suction of air from the
automobile interior causes air outside of the automobile to be
sucked inside because of incomplete airtightness of the automobile.
This is equally applied to the case that an oxygen supplier absorbs
air from outside of the automobile to supply oxygen enriched air
into the automobile. Accordingly, in theory, additional outer air
flows into the automobile by a pressure difference between air
sucked from an inside of the automobile using the device of the
present invention and oxygen enriched air supplied into the
automobile using the device, and so it is preferable that air is
sucked from an inside of the automobile so as to simultaneously
achieve air purification and oxygen enrichment functions.
Furthermore, the air purification device may further comprise a
flow rate controlling valve when the oxygen tank and the oxygen
releasing pump are not optimized. The device may be individually
provided with the oxygen tank and the oxygen releasing pump, or
integrally provided with them using the same vacuum source.
Additionally, the check valve allowing oxygen supplied from the
adsorbent to flow in one direction is connected to the adsorbent
and the oxygen tank. At this time, if the check valve is replaced
with an electrical valve, purity of oxygen can be controlled by a
controller.
Two 2-way solenoid valves each having 3 ports or one 2-way solenoid
valve having 5 ports may be used as the valve means, but if a motor
rotary valve connecting channels to each other at predetermined
time intervals by repeatedly conducting two types of vacuum-sucking
process is used as the valve means, the pump means releasing oxygen
can be additionally controlled by use of one rotary valve and
disadvantages of the device such as noise and poor durability are
avoided.
Meanwhile, when the motor rotary valve is used, the controller may
be omitted, but it is preferable that the device comprises the
controller for self-examination and automatic control.
In particular, the present invention is characterized in that a
vacuum pressure in an intake manifold part of the automobile is
utilized without a separate vacuum pump. The vacuum pressure in the
intake manifold part of the automobile is 260 mm bar or less, thus
being able to act as the vacuum pump means.
Reference should now be made to the drawings, in which the same
reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings to
designate the same or similar components. FIG. 1 is a flow diagram
illustrating an air purification device with oxygen-supplying
function according to the present invention.
With reference to FIG. 1, the device comprises an air filter 1,
positioned at an air conditioner in an automobile or a room, for
filtering impurities from air in the automobile or the room, a
vacuum pump 2 for sucking air through a sucking poll 30 of the air
filter in a predetermined degree of vacuum, a vacuum tank 5
connected to the vacuum pump 2 so as to maintain a desirable vacuum
pressure, valves 6 to 9 for converting a vacuum pressure into an
atmospheric pressure, adsorption beds 10 and 11 having an adsorbent
for adsorbing nitrogen and passing through oxygen among components
constituting air in the automobile, a bypass flow rate controlling
valve 31 acting as an oxygen channel between adsorption beds, check
valves 12 and 13 allowing oxygen supplied from the adsorption bed
to flow in one direction, and oxygen tanks 16 and 17 for collecting
oxygen enriched air. The oxygen tank is provided with a spring 25
or 27 and a diaphragm 26 or 28, and acts as an oxygen releasing
pump for releasing oxygen from the oxygen tank into the automobile
by use of a vacuum pressure of the vacuum pump 2. A separate vacuum
pump may be used so as to release oxygen stored in the oxygen tank
like prior arts. The air purification device further comprises
check valves 14 and 15 allowing oxygen stored in the oxygen tank to
flow in one direction, and oxygen enriched air passing through the
check valve 14 or 15 is supplied through a releasing module 21 into
the automobile. When the vacuum pump is separately used to release
oxygen, the channel connecting the oxygen tank 16 or 17 to the
valve is not needed. Additionally, the vacuum tank 5 may be omitted
when the vacuum pressure is sufficiently created by the air
purification device, and the oxygen tank 16 or 17 is selectively
omitted if oxygen flux released from the oxygen tank is not needed
to be constant in the case of using a separate vacuum pump to
release oxygen. The valves 6 to 9 useful in the present invention
are selected from the group consisting of a solenoid valve and a
rotary valve driven by a motor. The releasing module 21 is
selectively provided with an anion generator 18 or a scent
generator 19 through which oxygen is released from the oxygen tank,
and oxygen passing through the anion generator 18 or scent
generator 19 is released through a duct 20 to an inside 29 of the
automobile, thereby improving the atmosphere inside the
automobile.
Furthermore, the air purification device selectively comprises an
oxygen sensor 23, positioned in the automobile, for measuring an
oxygen content of air in the automobile, and a controller 22 for
controlling the oxygen sensor 23 according to the measured oxygen
content. At this time, the controller 22 is provided with a part
for inputting a command of a user.
An operation of the air purification device with oxygen-supplying
function will be described, below.
Air sucked into the automobile passes through an air filter 1 by a
vacuum pump 2, and two adsorption beds 10 and 11 each operate
according to a vacuum and a suction cycle in such a way that each
adsorption bed is reversely operated with respect to the other bed.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, two adsorption
beds are used so as to continuously operate the air purification
device, and may be extended to multi-bed systems to reduce a
sucking period.
A detailed description of operation of adsorption beds will be
given below, supposing that a first adsorption bed 10 is in a state
of releasing air and a second adsorption bed 11 is in a state of
sucking air.
When a low pressure state having vacuum effect of an automobile
intake manifold part 24 and an alternative vacuum state created by
a vacuum pump 2 are all at lower pressure than the vacuum tank 5,
air is sucked through the check valve 3 or 4 from the vacuum tank
to constantly maintain a vacuum in the vacuum tank 5.
When valves 6 and 9 are open and other valves 7 and 8 are closed, a
pressure in a first adsorption bed 10 is reduced due to a low
pressure in the vacuum tank 5, thus releasing nitrogen adsorbed
onto an adsorbent in the first adsorption bed 10 into the vacuum
tank 5 and allowing a small amount of oxygen separated from a
second adsorption bed 11 to flow into the first adsorption bed 10,
thereby assisting a desorption of nitrogen. On the other hand, the
second adsorption bed 11 conducts an adsorption process while air
passing through an air filter 1 flowing into the second adsorption
bed 11. When the valve 9 is open, an inside of a first oxygen tank
16 is under atmospheric pressure, and so a spring 25 descends in
the first oxygen tank 16 to lower a diaphragm 26 as in FIG. 1.
Oxygen in the oxygen tank passes through the check valve 14 and may
flow through an anion generator 18 or a scent generator 19 into the
automobile.
Meanwhile, a second oxygen tank 17 is under vacuum when the valve 6
is open, and so a diaphragm 28 ascends in the second oxygen tank 17
to store oxygen enriched air supplied from the second adsorption
bed 11. As described above, the oxygen tank 16 or 17 acting as a
pump can release oxygen enriched air by separately using a
small-sized vacuum pump or a small-sized blower. At this time, a
channel connecting the oxygen tank to the valve is not needed.
The above procedure is repeated, in other words, the adsorption bed
10 or 11 repeatedly conducts a sucking and a releasing process to
continuously generate oxygen enriched air. A plurality of
adsorption beds can be parallely connected to each other in
consideration of a capacity of the vacuum pump and productivity of
oxygen.
Therefore, an air purification device of the present invention is
advantageous in that the device sucks air in an automobile to
generate oxygen enriched air, and allows the resulting air to pass
through a dust collector, an adsorbent such as zeolite and
activated carbon, an anion generator, and a scent generator etc.,
thus allowing users in the automobile to feel refreshed.
The air purification device prevents a driver from causing a car
accident owing to sleepiness or an oxygen shortage.
An oxygen supplier of the present invention is advantageous in that
heat is not generated, unlike when an air compressor is used,
because of using an atmospheric pressure and a vacuum, thus needing
no separate cooling equipment and overcoming vapor condensation and
noise.
In addition, the present invention avoids disadvantages of an oil
lubricated type pump, that is to say, contamination by a lubricant
of air, by just sucking air in the automobile using a difference
between vacuum pressure due to a vacuum pump and atmospheric
pressure.
Further, the present invention can provide an oil circular vacuum
pump of an oxygen supplier, driven by an automobile engine, having
advantages of low noise, long life span, and high flux.
Furthermore, the device of the present invention has an advantage
in that disadvantages of a conventional pressure swing adsorption
process such as vibration and noise can be avoided without a high
pressure safety device, a pressure controller, and a moisture
separator.
Additionally, the present invention is advantageous in that an
adsorbent is prevented from adsorbing moisture due to a vapor
condensation occurring when hot compressed air passing through an
air compressor comes in contact with cool atmospheric air in the
case of using an air conditioner in combination with an oxygen
supplier because air purification and oxygen generation is
accomplished by only using a vacuum, thereby improving performance
factor of the air purification device.
Moreover, the oil circulating type vacuum pump with excellent
durability, driven by an automobile engine can be used as the
vacuum pump of the oxygen supplier.
In addition, a high pressure safety device, a pressure controller,
and a moisture separator needed in the conventional pressure swing
adsorption process can be omitted by using only atmospheric and
vacuum pressure, thereby providing a simple and light air
purification device having advantages of low noise and
semi-permanent expected life span.
The present invention has been described in an illustrative manner,
and it is to be understood that the terminology used is intended to
be in the nature of description rather than of limitation. Many
modifications and variations of the present invention are possible
in light of the above teachings. Therefore, it is to be understood
that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be
practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
* * * * *